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Prison was so sweet

WHILE THE AVERAGE man would rather die than be locked away in a cell for three years, 58-year-old Lloyd Seymour Kenlock of Waterhouse, St. Andrew, said he loved every minute of it.

Why? When he was locked away in a London prison in 2001, it was nothing like the bleak picture that was painted of prison life.

Kenlock claims he had his own quarters, television, free health insurance, privacy, someone else doing his laundry and $4,000 (£40) a week to boot.

Busted

The deaf accountant told THE STAR that when he was busted by London police for taking four pounds (2000g) of cocaine valued at $12.6 million (£126,000), into their country, the three years he would spend incarcerated at the HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs would be the greatest years of his life.

"If mi coulda get a girlfriend (while in prison) mi woulda neva come back," he said laughingly. "I don't know about the other prison dem, but mi love dah prison deh, the wardens are wonderful people."

Kenlock said that on June 14, 2001, a friend of his gave him a $50,000 round trip ticket bound for London and $50,000 (£500) to transport the drugs to another source in the United Kingdom but as soon as he got to the Heathrow airport in London, he found himself in the interrogation room and subsequently slapped with serious charges of importing Class A drugs and evading customs.

Supportive staff

"Dem (the authorities) did treat me real nice but dem jus' want to know why mi bring drugs inna dem country," he said. "Dem give me food, tea, water anything me want except alcohol."

Before appearing at the Ashworth Crown Court, Kenlock got his first taste of prison life. He was locked down at the Pentonville Prison for five days. "That was tough," he said. "No TV and you lock down for 23 hours but the staff was very supportive and dem neva condemn you."

Kenlock insisted that he was never in the drug trade, he just could not find a job and was living hand to mouth when someone offered him this route. After pleading guilty to the charges, he was taken to HMP where he said prison life was a stark contrast to the common stories inmates told of their experience behind bars.

Four Star Hotel

The horror stories of violent gang rapes, molestation from wardens, cold tasteless food and torture was not Kenlock's reality. "It was like a four star hotel, own bathroom, hot water, heating in winter, own light, nobody to come bug you. Employment for everybody, £40 a week to fix earphones, go to my account," he said. "Me get optical, medical and dental. You have 100 percent privacy, except when you go and bathe."

Other "fringe benefits" were three pairs of leather shoes, underpants, toiletries.

When asked if he thought his disability (he has a bone condition called osteomyelitis) caused the authorities to give him special treatment he insisted it had not. "No, because it was a level playing field," he said.

But while Kenlock's prison term was enjoyable in the U.K. for most local inmates things are the exact opposite. One local 27-year-old inmate serving a 15-year sentence for murder first at Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre in Kingston and later at the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, told THE STAR via cellphone that prison life in Jamaica was a horrible existence.

Privacy is a luxury

He said that privacy was a luxury that he never enjoyed. "Sometimes is like four or five a wi locate inna one cell," he said. While Kenlock had his own bathroom facilities, the inmate said he had to wait for a turn to use the bathroom and many times did not make it in time.

"Sometime mi haffi filth inna bucket or pon newspaper and wrap it up and fling it wey a mawning," he said.

He added that having someone else doing his laundry was unheard of. "Dem use fi give you a bucket, some raw liquid soap but now a days is once in a blue moon, you haffi rely pon you family fi wash it sometimes."

Employment for him means using pallettes to make bricks and getting paid $2 for every brick made. By the end of the day, a group of about eight men normally makes approximately 400 blocks.

He added that after serving 10 years in prison he can't wait to get out. "It rough, rough, rough. You haffi buy you owna bulb sometimes," he said.

Interestingly, for Kenlock when he was deported on June 14, 2004, he wrote a letter to the prison saying he had enjoyed his time there and even offered a watercolour painting to a member of staff.

He came to THE STAR offices armed with documentation of his stay there, medical reports, letters from attorneys, and a response from his warden in section C-wing of the prison.

The letter dated July 6, 2004 from Alan Parkins, C. Wing governor reads, "It is gratifying to know that your experience at Wormwood Scrubs was as pleasant as it could possibly have been made. Thank you for your kind offer of a watercolour for C. Wing but unfortunately the prison staff are not allowed to accept gratitudes from people."

Arriving on Jamaican soil was not jubilant for Kenlock. He said that he did not have anywhere to live initially. He is temporarily staying in someone's back room in Waterhouse, St. Andrew.

'Kick-ass' personality

He instructed THE STAR that he had a "kick-ass" personality and was not interested in handouts or pity.

He said that he had tried to pull himself up by his bootstraps before he turned to drugs. He showed the newsteam a letter to parliament requesting help in finding employment. He showed reference letters from Life of Jamaica where he worked as a stock room clerk from 1990 to 1991 and from Jamaica Promotions Corporation where he worked for five years in exporter registration.

He said being deaf and an ex-con did not help his cause much so has started writing three booklets, Business Plan For Beginners, Marketing for Beginners and Starting And Operating A Small Business In Jamaica.

"Since I come back to Jamaica I am struggling," he told THE STAR